UEFA on Friday issued an apology to Champions League (UCL) final fans for distressing and chaotic events at Stade de France.
“UEFA wishes to sincerely apologise to all spectators who had to experience or witness frightening and distressing events in the build-up to the UEFA Champions League final at the Stade de France on 28 May 2022 in Paris, on a night which should have been a celebration of European club football. No football fan should be put in that situation, and it must not happen again,” UEFA said in a statement.
The European football’s governing body also said that they commissioned an “Independent Review” to identify the shortcomings and responsibilities of all entities involved in the organization of the final match between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
The Independent Review, which will be chaired by Tiago Brandao Rodrigues from Portugal, aims at understanding what happened in the build-up to the final and determining what lessons should be learned to ensure there is no repeat of the actions and events of that day.
The UCL final kickoff was deferred for more than 30 minutes because of late-arriving fans on Saturday night.
Thousands of supporters were stuck in queues as security teams were buckling under the pressure to handle the ticketless crowd.
The metal gates were jammed due to fake tickets, and several supporters broke through the security cordons to enter the stadium, spurring police to fire tear gas.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera confirmed that an excess crowd of 30,000-40,000 fans came to the stadium with fake tickets or without tickets.
In Saturday’s final, Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 to win the 2022 Champions League title thanks to the winning goal by Vinicius Junior.
Source: Anadolu Agency